[37] Bill 82 Original (PDF)

Bill 82 2002

An Act respecting
the compensation of
Hydro One Inc. executives
and sponsorships and political
contributions by Hydro One Inc.
and other entities

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1. In this Act,

"compensation" means all payments and benefits resulting from employment, as prescribed; ("rétribution")

"executive" means a director or officer or the holder of any other prescribed position; ("cadre")

"government-controlled entity" means an agency, board or commission of the Government of Ontario or any other entity owned, controlled or operated by Her Majesty in right of Ontario, or by the Government of Ontario, or under the authority of the Legislature or the Lieutenant Governor in Council; ("entité contrôlée par le gouvernement")

"prescribed" means prescribed by the regulations made under this Act; ("prescrit")

"sponsorship", when used in relation to an entity, means the entity's agreement or arrangement to sponsor an athletic or cultural event or a person's participation in such an event. ("parrainage")

Compensation of Hydro One Inc. executives

2. (1) On and after June 3, 2002, an executive of Hydro One Inc. is not entitled to receive compensation that exceeds the amount prescribed for his or her category.

Prohibited elements of compensation

(2) On and after June 3, 2002, an executive of Hydro One Inc. is not entitled to receive, as part of his or her compensation,

(a) a watercraft or the use of a watercraft;

(b) a motor vehicle or the use of a motor vehicle whose value exceeds the prescribed amount; or

(c) anything or the use of anything that constitutes prescribed luxury goods.

Payment in respect of termination

3. (1) An executive of Hydro One Inc. is not entitled to receive a payment in respect of the termination of his or her employment on or after June 3, 2002 that exceeds what would be payable under section 65 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

Same

(2) Subsection (1) applies whether the employment is terminated by resignation or dismissal or in some other way.

Sponsorships

Review by Integrity Commissioner

4. (1) The Integrity Commissioner shall review all sponsorships of Hydro One Inc. and may review any sponsorship of any other government-controlled entity.

Policies

(2) The Integrity Commissioner shall prepare a document setting out policies with respect to sponsorships and shall, on or before September 1, 2002, submit it to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, who shall make it public.

Compliance

(3) Hydro One Inc. shall comply with the policies on and after the day they are made public.

Same

(4) Subsection (3) also applies to all other government-controlled entities.

No political contributions

5. (1) Hydro One Inc. is not permitted to make contributions as defined in the Election Finances Act.

Same

(2) Subsection (1) also applies to all other government-controlled entities.

Regulations

6. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation,

(a) prescribe payments and benefits for the purposes of the definition of "compensation" in section 1;

(b) prescribe positions for the purposes of the definition of "executive" in section 1, and establish categories of executives for the purpose of subsection 2 (1);

(c) for every category, prescribe an amount for the purpose of subsection 2 (1), in accordance with subsection (3) of this section;

(d) prescribe an amount for the purpose of clause 2 (2) (b);

(e) prescribe luxury goods for the purpose of clause 2 (2) (c).

Retroactivity

(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may be made retroactive to a date on or after June 3, 2002.

Prescribed amounts re compensation

(3) The prescribed amounts mentioned in clause (1) (c) shall be calculated as follows:

1. Two or more public sector electricity transmission companies in Canadian provinces outside Ontario that are comparable to Hydro One Inc. shall be identified.

2. The average compensation received by executives in the relevant category of each identified company shall be established.

3. The prescribed amount is 110 per cent of the average of the amounts established under paragraph 2.

Prescribed amount re motor vehicle

(4) The prescribed amount mentioned in clause 2 (2) (b) shall reflect the value of the motor vehicle, if any, that an average Ontarian could be expected to own.

Commencement

7. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

8. The short title of this Act is the Clean Up Hydro One Act, 2002.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill provides that the compensation of executives of Hydro One Inc. shall not exceed amounts established by regulation, using comparisons to executive positions with comparable companies in other provinces. Termination payments are limited to what would be payable under section 65 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

The Integrity Commissioner will review Hydro One's sponsorships of athletic and cultural events, and establish binding policies to govern them. These policies will also apply to sponsorships engaged in by other government-controlled entities.

Hydro One is not permitted to make provincial political contributions. This restriction also applies to other government-controlled entities.